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TL:DR
Republicans in Congress introduced legislation this week that would tax electric vehicles, arguing that battery-powered cars and trucks need to help pay for the country’s roads.
Taxes on EVs are likely to be a hot topic this year as Republicans look for ways to offset other tax cuts and reduce spending. The Trump administration is also opposed to what it calls special treatment for electric cars.
EVs currently don’t pay into the federal Highway Trust Fund and are mostly exempt from state fuel taxes. A handful of states have imposed annual registration fees, and some are experimenting with so-called vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT) pricing.
The “FAIR Share Act” from Sens. Deb Fischer of Nebraska and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming would require a one-time tax of $1,000 for each EV sold and an extra $550 for vehicles with batteries that weigh over 1,000 pounds. Hybrid vehicles would be exempt.

My Thoughts 💭

The article is paywalled so this is all I could pull but shocked to see Lummis going after EV drivers!! Republicans looking to cut taxes with income but then input new taxes on EV to fix the shortfall of the federal trust to fix roads. But adding on $1,550 to the sticker price of an EV is kind of sinister! Why not just toll federal roads then anyone who uses them pays.
Yeah, that's the marketing. Republicans like all politicians lie. They are basically democrat lite. I grew up on "conservative" talk radio and in my twenties I started to see through the BS. They promise smaller government (well they used to, not so much anymore) and lower taxes. I will say they do support lower taxes in many cases but its mostly smoke.
I do expect overall taxes to be lower under Trump than they would be under Harris FWIW. There are so many hypocritical positions in the Republican party I couldn't take it anymore. On war, economics, morals, and many other topics.
I began to realize the real issue is that politicians just have an incentive structure that lend itself to these issues. Its not just their ideology. I mean no politician really has much of an ideology than maintaining power and enriching themselves.
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I asked chat gpt
Republican lawmakers are proposing new taxes on electric vehicle (EV) sales as a way to help fund road maintenance and highway repairs. The move stems from concerns that EVs, which do not use gasoline or diesel, are not contributing to the federal Highway Trust Fund through fuel taxes. Since EVs don't consume fuel, they avoid paying state and federal fuel taxes, which are traditionally used to fund infrastructure projects like road repairs.
To address this issue, Senators Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) introduced the "FAIR Share Act." This legislation seeks to impose a one-time tax on the sale of EVs. Specifically, it proposes a $1,000 tax on all electric vehicles, with an additional $550 charge for EVs equipped with large batteries weighing over 1,000 pounds. However, hybrid vehicles would be exempt from these taxes, as they still use gasoline or diesel.
The move comes amid broader discussions in Congress about funding highway maintenance, particularly as lawmakers prepare to create a new transportation spending bill. Republicans argue that the EV tax is necessary to make up for lost revenue due to the rise of electric vehicles. They are also concerned with the financial sustainability of the Highway Trust Fund as gasoline and diesel consumption declines.
This proposal is a response to the growing electric vehicle market and the rising need for infrastructure that can support EVs while also ensuring that traditional road maintenance and improvements are funded adequately. The tax could be seen as part of broader Republican efforts to adjust to new transportation trends while ensuring that road repair budgets are maintained.
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I'm pretty sure the roads were fucked up way before EVs. I'd bet if they quit wasting so much fucking money, they could afford it without an extra tax.
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Why not just toll federal roads then anyone who uses them pays.
This is probably a lot harder to implement than just forcing a tax on purchase of an EV. Toll roads can require a lot of physical infrastructure like cameras to determine usage. Taking the paperwork approach is probably a lot simpler to accomplish.
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In the case of Utah, the western state also offers a voluntary road usage charge program where participants pay 1.11 cents per mile, up to an annual cap of $143.25, said John Gleason, Utah Department of Transportation public relations director
1.11 cents! Plus what you pay at the pump. Crazy!
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I think it is that they are seeing the writing on the wall. Electric cars didnt bring the electrified revolution that was promised, plus our grid cant even support it. And now they are tearing up our roads for free.
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